This is important, because all of the candidates vary somewhat in their level of commitment to climate change, as well as their plans to address it, but Biden’s admittedly middle-ground approach is in stark contrast to all of the others.
The DNC was beside themselves with the support Bernie had immediately after he announced he was running again. He broke records for money donations and they were almost all small amounts from individuals. His lead on the next Democrat in the field was yuuuuuge according to polling. The MSM, always only a propaganda arm of establishment Dems and moderate Republicans, began inserting Biden into polling, long before he decided to run, with the intent of splitting that large gap to prevent the impression that Bernie was the sure deal favorite and to slow his momentum.
Biden’s name recognition and association with Obama gave him a quick jump out of the gate, but is now waning, even with registered Dems, who the MSM limited their polling to. This polling tactic completely ignores millions of Bernie supporters who dumped the party after it made such a shambles of the ’16 election in an attempt to push another neoliberal on voters with the false label of “progressive”. Hillary couldn’t measure up to that label, even against Trump who campaigned to her left on issues where her policies were right of almost anyone else in either party, especially her hawkish stance on foreign policy, never meeting a war she didn’t approve of and making her own in the absence of any other to cheer for.
The general consensus among progressives is that the DNC would rather lose to Trump again than to admit that Bernie is the favorite of a majority of voters. Admitting that would mean a drastic policy shift, especially if Bernie were to win the general and become the official head of the party. The establishment wing of the party knows what that would do for their support from deep pocket corporate donors and none of them are particularly adept at making policy to benefit their constituency. Republicans, boxed into supporting the corporate capitalism they hang their hats on, are often envious of the ability of Dems to garner bribes/donations from the people they should oppose by their ideological anti-corporate roots.
Bernie’s climate change fixes may not be the most aggressive, but he has the best progressive economists on the planet advising him of what is possible with existing resources, even ignoring the “how will you pay for it?” questions. They are approaching the challenge much like FDR approached funding the war, but one still can’t make tanks without steel and labor. The good news is that gearing up for climate change from a war-like perspective is just what our economy needs as well. The fiat currency and debt denominated only in the dollars Congress can create at will make it possible to “afford” anything that is for sale priced in dollars without inducing inflation or stressing the nation’s ability to collect taxes while retaining approval in public opinion.
Even if the working class voters abandon Trump they still have little incentive to elect a Hillary clone, or anyone associated with her. The shenanigans pulled by the DNC to push her on voters only increased the perception of a crooked party that has no regard for voters or their best interests in the zeal to garner personal gains. They certainly aren’t far from wrong and the current disposition of the party leadership to shut down progressive policies, especially regarding climate change only supports that view. The country knows they were had by Trump’s feigned populism, but he is now the devil they know and no one likes to admit being fooled, so he may be harder to beat than the DNC acknowledges, especially with a Biden as the candidate. His brash, albeit random, mannerisms and anger still resonate with many people who would be happy to see it all burn down, and they will be joined by Bernie’s supporters if he is rejected unfairly again. Watching it all burn can, at least, be satisfying in the absence of other choices.
